Well well well...did you expect me to make a mini cake for two with part of a cake mix?
I conveniently realized that a cake baked in a 9" square pan becomes two large pieces of cake once stacked and sliced. How many life occasions do you need just two slices of cake? On Mondays? On Fridays for celebrating? Everyday? Let's stick with everyday.
Baking a 9" cake from a cake mix requires 2 cups of cake mix. (To use the remaining 1 cup of cake mix from the box, try my Frosted Eggnog Cookies).
The dreamy part of this cake is the rich cranberry butter. I made my crockpot cranberry butter, and instantly knew that it should be slathered between light, fluffy vanilla cake layers. And the cream cheese vanilla frosting? Well, it's my go-to during the holiday season.
I happen to think dairy makes almost any recipe better. Butter, cream, sour cream, cream cheese--who's with me?
But, sometimes don't be like me---grease your pan:
Cranberry Vanilla Dream Cake (cake mix)
Yellow cake mix with cranberry butter and topped with a cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups dry yellow cake mix
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon cream
For the cranberry butter:
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
For the frosting:
- 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- First make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8x8" pan with cooking spray.
- Combine all the ingredients for the cake and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the cranberry butter by combining all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until cranberries start to burst, about 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer another 10 minutes, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool completely (better if cooled overnight).
- Make the frosting by combining all ingredients and beating on high speed until light and fluffy.
- When ready to serve, carefully flip the cake out of the pan. Slice it in half (from top to bottom). Add a layer of cranberry butter to one half, then place the other half on top. Frost with cream cheese frosting, and serve.
Notes
Thanks to Audra for the cranberry butter recipe.
The amount of frosting that this makes is only enough to cover what you see in the photo. You can double the recipe for enough frosting to cover the entire cake.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 995Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 268mgSodium: 1092mgCarbohydrates: 152gFiber: 3gSugar: 99gProtein: 14g
Tamara Faith says
Looks like a little slice of Heaven! Yum!
http://www.prettybitchescancooktoo.com
The Domestic Rebel says
YOU, my gorgeous friend, are incredible. And incredibly BEAUTIFUL! I, too, love cows. But the picture of you and a cow... my heart nearly esplod'd. Also, have I mentioned how much I LURVE you? Cranberry butter and a two-person cake? Dude.
Nutmeg Nanny says
This cake is truly dreamy! I love this recipe and can't wait to taste it, it looks so perfectly done :)
thestylistquo says
Goodness.. this is positively gorgeous! It definitely looks like a restaurant-quality dish, and I'm sure it tastes just as good! Is it just me or are sugared cranberries the most magical freaking thing ever?! Like little fairies dusted them with frost I SWEAR, it kills me how awesome they are.
Litegal1 says
I'm SO pleased with the results! Just couldn't be happier :) I made with ingredients I had on hand, but this recipe is apparently very forgiving. The cake itself was very good. I was out of cream so I simply added half a tablespoon of butter to the milk. For the filling, I was short on cranberries so I threw in about 1/4 cup blueberries; also out of apple cider, so I used CranGrape (I know, but it worked). Next time I'll double the filling so I can serve some alongside the cake ... mine came out much thicker - almost like jam in consistency...but delicious nonetheless. The frosting was to die for ... I added an extra ounce of cream cheese (I didn't want to have a lowly ounce hiding in the fridge) ...
All in all, the tang of the cream cheese and cranberry filling was perfect against the sweetness of the cake. Thank you SO much for sharing your recipe!